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| Eurydice 2013 |
I discovered mosaic in December 2005 and am currently working on my 286th mosaic - before you try and work it out - it simply means that I average about 31 mosaics per year.
My name is Cher and I am a mosaic addict!
When I first started this "craft" it was an absolute obsession with me experimenting with all kinds of materials and techniques. Some did not work out so well, as evidenced by 8 or more "work in progress" pieces dotted around the studio. They serve as a reminder that all my bright ideas are not always very practical.
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| Waterbird 2006 |
The one piece which is fast becoming a royal pain is a ceramic lamp shaped like a mountain village which I started almost five years ago. The problem is that by leaving it alone for so long, my ability and skill level has improved so much that I feel I should pull all the tiles off and start again because I would now approach it differently and probably do a better job. The problem is there is a lot of tiles to pull off and the base being ceramic would mean that chunks of it would come off as well!!
In doing research on mosaic I discovered the most amazing websites filled with wondrous pieces of Mosaic Art and aspired to be able to create amazing art myself. There were only two small problems with this ambition - I dont have an art or design background! Nevertheless, undeterred I soldiered on, mosaicing everything and anything I could lay my hands on, even managing to create my own range of DIY Mosaic Kits when I had tackled all the ones available at the time.
My first attempt at something a bit "arty" (Mosiac #20) was a copy of a waterbird which I still use as the Cherian Mosaics logo. I was pretty chuffed with the result and thought perhaps this art thing could not be so difficult after all. (ummm yes - every single mosaic I have completed has been numbered and photographed and recorded in an album.....OCD at its best!)
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| Marmaduke 2008 |
Feeling very brave I then asked Moira MacMurray, an established and renowned artist and school friend of Ian, if I could mosaic one of her delightful and quirky cats. She kindly gave me permission to reproduce "Marmaduke" which proved to be a challenge! Marmaduke has been "sold" a number of times and secretly I am kinda pleased that all the sale has fallen through, because he remains in my studio as one of my favourite mosaics.
One of the very ancient and popular subjects for mosaics is portraits and when a visiting international mosaic teacher came to South Africa in 2011, it was time for me to try and do a face of some kind. Faces are notoriously difficult to do, so I chose Nyetiri from the movie Avatar as my subject. My thinking was that it was "alien" and therefore if I stuffed it up, it would not be so noticable! I chose the prettiest coloured tiles called "Twinkle", which has a foil backing and hellishly difficult to shape. If you nibble too much on the tile, the foil peels away and you are left with a clear glass tile which meant my wastage of tiles was enormous! With some serious perseverence she was finally finished and was exhibited at the MASA Mosaic Exhibition 2012.
It would be a while before I attempted my next "portrait". In between I build step-by-step projects for Craftwise Magazine on behalf of mosaic supply stores to promote mosaic and give readers an opportunity to try a new technique or style. Finally, under the direction of Marina Ehlers of Mosaic Arts, who came up with the design and concept for "Eurydice" ( inspired by the huge mosaics installed in the Paris Opera House depicting lovers from Greek mythology). With Marina providing the design and outlay and Vera Giovitto (Marina's mom and founder of the company) providing detailed instructions with regards colour choices and shading, it could be considered a "mosaic by numbers" project. This in no way detracts from the joy I had in creating her, the painstaking attention to detail and ensuring that the tiles were cut and matched to perfection. It was mounted by Mosaic Arts as in inlay on a piece of old scaffolding plank which had hung around their workshop for years.
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| Nyetiri 2011 |
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| MASA in support of RAGE Rhino 2013 |
The 2013 Community Service Project for the Mosaic Association South Africa in support of RAGE (Rhino Action Group Effort) requires members to create a mosaic depicting a Rhino. These mosaics will be displayed at schools and environmental centres to create awareness and the top mosaics will be donated to RAGE to raise funds to combat rhino poaching. Although the brief calls for a 30x30cm mosaic, I duly went overboard and created a 75cm diameter mosaic for the launch of the project. It was the first time I had attempted shading on my own and am pretty happy with the end result. The design was provided by Mosaic Arts and is inspired by an installation done for the South African Reserve Bank.
And in that last sentence is the dilemma that I live with - I will never be a true mosaic artist unless I can produce an original design all on my own. Each and every mosaic depicted here is a reproduction of somebody else's design or concept (all with permission, of course). Although I do a whole bunch of "crafty" mosaics to sell, I am capable of so much more but just dont know how to put my bright concepts into a practical mosaic. So kinda stuck in the middle of this debate, I have come to the conclusion that although I will never be a true mosaic "artist", I am a pretty good "artisan" and that is fine by me.
Vera says that if I had come to her 20 years ago, I would now be a great artist. As Vera is in her early 70's and I have just turned 57 I am quite happy to make the following deal with her: She sticks around till her early 90's and I will be her avid student until I am 77 - not a bad age to become a true mosaic artist.... dont you agree?
